Semiconductor & IC Development

As both fab and fab-less companies vie for supremacy in their chosen niche markets, be it GPS, wireless, mobile gaming or power management and processing, the need for smaller component packages (silicon) with greater I/O becomes a critical business need and technology driver

As the adoption of micro ball grid arrays (BGAs) becomes more widespread, the ability to test and evaluate silicon performance becomes increasingly difficult

Clearly, specialist evaluation boards need to be provided as part of a package that the silicon manufacturers sell to global OEMs in such markets as mobile telecoms, consumer electronics, and with the impact of today’s smartphone technology with gaming and TV on the move the automotive industry. Fabrinet UK's ability in the full turnkey manufacture of reliable test boards (or reference designs) to accompany the initial supply of prototype packaged silicon is a key element of the bigger picture. Without the promise of the improved silicon and the board to analyse and test its performance, the chip will never go on to large scale production, where the real profits are recouped when their production runs rise to tens of thousands if not millions

Fabrinet UK currently support many fab and fab-less global semiconductor companies with its On Demand service of rapid prototype assembly and high temperature over life testing

This service demonstrates a “win-win” scenario for the sector, where high quality and quick-turn solutions are the normal expectations to prove silicon functionality before product launch